The Hard Way
by Lenidrabbles
Summary: Courting Sin 'verse - see profile. Buffy and Angelus find a way to be together in S2, and they end up in LA a year later. What happens in-between? 3x22 mini-rewrites of Season Three. Buffy/Angelus Ensemble
1. I

**DISCLAIMER:** Joss Whedon. I'm just playing.  
**SUMMARY:** Courting Sin 'verse (see profile). Buffy-centered. Bringing B/Aus into S3. Hope you enjoy these mini-episodes!  
**RATING:** R.  
**WORDCOUNT:** 22x100  
**A.N:** Major spoilers to other **CS'verse.** stories; but you'll survive if you read this without having read the others.  
**FEEDBACK:** Loved.

_Written for open_on_sunday (LJ comm) **Prompt:** black. _

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**THE HARD WAY**  
_by Leni_

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**301. Anne.**

"Slayer crashes demon celebration - wonder what spin the LA papers will put to it."

"Gangs on drugs," her companion answered matter-of-factly.

Buffy pouted. "But that's so small town!" Nevertheless, she checked her weapons. Looked up when he didn't mirror her. "Angel?"

He lifted one black eyebrow. "You said you were bored," - he waved his hand towards the lair - "I promised you some entertainment."

If he had a soul, she could have convinced him. But…. "Fine. Be that way. But if I die in there, I'll---"

"Oh Buffy." Angelus laughed, reached out to tap her chin. "You're not dying tonight."

.

**302. Dead Man's Party.**

Willow saw her first, grinned and nudged her other best friend. Xander looked up from his school work, still worrying a helpless black pen between his teeth, and his smile looked comical through the plastic. Scrambling to his feet, he opened his arms theatrically.

For once, Buffy didn't care about looking silly - she'd missed them, _this_. She barraged into him, and a second later her laughter joined Willow's as Xander tried to recover his breath.

"LA was boring?" the redhead guessed.

"_Giles_ was missed. Sorely."

Her friends tutted commiserately, and it didn't even cross her mind to tell the truth.

.

**303. Faith, Hope & Trick.**

Out of nowhere, Cordelia sat beside her at the library study table. True to form, the brunette didn't bother with any niceties. "Remember Ryan's funeral?"

"Of course."

"Looking for a repeat?"

Buffy frowned.

"Scott Hope. Cute guy panting after you, completely unaware that your ex will chop-chop him if he keeps that up? "

"He's still at it? After last night…." A headache started slowly. "Don't I already have enough drama?"

"Black-haired Slayer on the block?" Cordelia shrugged at Buffy's look. "Willow told me." Then, cheerfully, "When is your new friend slaying Angelus?"

Buffy laughed sourly. "As if she could."

.

**304. Beauty and the Beasts.**

The wolf was closer to the surface on full moon days. Buffy could almost see a black shimmer below their skin. Werewolf. _Demon_.

Deep breath. "I only want answers, Oz. Were you at the cave or not."

The boy looked her in the eye, a protective arm tight around his girlfriend. "You already know that Giles couldn't find Nan."

Frustration filled her. So did disappointment.

Oz growled. "You don't get to judge us." Werewolves were good trackers. He'd smelt Angel on her months ago. "Not you."

"You're my friend," she whispered. "But that won't save Nancy if she killed Jeff."

.

**305. Homecoming.**

He sat motionlessly beside her. Waiting. He was rarely this patient.

"Knock it off, Buffy."

Ah, that was more like him.

Buffy opened her eyes, turned lazily towards him. Mid-movement, he grasped her shoulders and pulled her up so they were face-to-face. She laughed in delight, "Please. A girl can't have a near-death experience without you turning all caveman?"

He dumped her back onto the black pillows. "You're crazy."

She looked down at her bruised, bandaged body. "Cordy owes me big." The brunette wouldn't have survived if Buffy hadn't taken her place. "Angel? Some 'hunters' escaped."

"Already taken care of."

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**306. Band Candy.**

"Hear the good news, Slayer. _Everyone_ has a dark side." He clicked his fingers and beams of energy slice through the air.

Buffy retreated further into the alley, shaking her head.

"My advice as your Watcher?"

A police car exploded behind him.

"Find it."

Straightening the black leather jacket, he stepped confidently toward her small hideout.

"Embrace it."

He prepared another launch of power.

"_Love it._"

A second later Giles lay unconscious on the sidewalk. Angel smirked down at her. "Aw. Wouldn't he be proud you're such a good student?"

She couldn't help it. Broke into tears and ran away.

.

**307. Revelations.**

"B is for Bitch, after all," Faith spit out.

Buffy refused to feel guilty. "Just say yes. Please."

The younger Slayer struggled harder against the chains.

"I think that's a no," Angel purred, making to advance toward the brunette.

Faith glared at him challengingly, but Buffy gripped his arm to halt him. "You have no choice." She reached for the black hair, yanked her hand back when teeth almost caught her fingers. "You can't kill us if you're dead."

Angel laughed. "She wants to kill us?"

Buffy gave Faith a pitying glance. "It's what I'd do in her place."

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**308. Lover's Walk.**

"Hey!" Spike protested as he fought her hold. "Careful with the hair!"

In response, Buffy twisted his arm tighter, annoyed that she couldn't find the proper angle for a stake. Slippery bastard.

"That's it." An elbow to her breast stunned her, and her grasp loosened for a second. One second too many. Now he stood indolently, a sneer firm in place. "You really shouldn't upset your friends' kidnapper."

Her eyes widened.

"Hm. Didn't know you were down some playmates, huh?" He relaxed. The rules had changed and they both knew it. "Up to blackening your conscience with a new deal?"

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**309. The Wish.**

The new girl put her arms around Willow consolingly; Buffy bit her lip at the sight. It was forever since she'd been moved to do something so simply… human. "Will?"

"I'm okay," Willow sniffled. "It's just - I really thought…. This time. Maybe this time it'd work, you know?"

Buffy nodded as expected. "Xander is a moron."

"No, he isn't," the redhead defended, loyal to the end. "He just doesn't feel… what I feel. I just wish…."

"Yes?" the new girl said encouragingly.

Willow wiped her cheek. "I wish I'd never met him."

"Done."

And reality was swallowed into the black.

.

**310. Amends.**

"Hope I'm not intruding."

Buffy dropped her plate. Stared at the newcomer.

"This is nice." The sandy-haired boy looked around the apartment. "A bit small, but I liked that about you. Not one high-maintenance vibe."

"Ryan…."

He grinned. "There were rumors. Easy Summers; I didn't believe that."

"Stop." Her eyes closed. His breath seemed even louder, so she opened them again.

"I should have. Because it _was_ easy to get your attention." He stretched his neck, showing the twin black marks he sported. Vampire bite. "I only had to die."

Buffy opened her mouth to apologize; but he was gone.

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**311. Gingerbread.**

Amy's eyes faded from pitch black back into their usual green. Her gaze drifted to the decapitated demon, then to the scythe. "It's almost too much power," she whispered, looking at it covetingly.

Buffy held it closer; but couldn't deny the pronouncement. "Are you okay?"

Amy nodded.

Willow was still staring. "That's one big knife," she started timidly. "I didn't know…" Her eyebrows puckered. "Does Giles know?"

"He doesn't."

"Oh?"

"And he won't."

"But…."

Amy laughed. "Somebody's hoarding all the good toys," she sing-songed.

"This isn't a game!"

"And yet," Amy grinned mock cheerily, "you play by your own rules."

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**312. Helpless.**

Angel leered at her from between her breasts. "I could kill you so easily tonight." He pressed his fingers against her hips, until black-and-blue prints bloomed on her skin.

"Easily enough," she agreed, not bothering to wriggle away. Three gashes ran across his cheek, barely pink anymore; but a good reminder that the effect of the Council's injections was just temporary. "Too bad we don't do 'easy'."

His mouth quirked up, but he hid the reaction in a long lick along her collar.

"Besides," she said grimly, pulling him into a proper kiss. "One betrayer is enough for my birthday."

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**313. The Zeppo.**

Xander's eyes lighted up when his ex girlfriend walked past them. "Hello, sexy bomb," he called out, "Grrr."

Buffy and Willow cringed, too aware of the thin peaceful veneer between them. But Cordelia laughed, and to their utter astonishment, ruffled Xander's short black hair affectionally. "Say it again," she whispered - then pulled his hair. Hard. "And you'll wish I hadn't distracted your new buddy last night."

"New buddy?" Willow asked, eyes narrowed.

Buffy grinned at her friend's version of jealousy.

Xander's arms surrounded the redhead, pulling her over and squeezing tight. Over Willow's giggles, he answered, "Total deadbeat, I swear."

.

**314. Bad Girls.**

Faith sauntered into their bedroom defiantly. "I've been thinking."

Buffy startled at the voice, hastily pulling her shirt down and moving to sit up. Angelus reached up to pin her shoulders to the mattress; resting his cheek against her hip, he looked at the intruder. "Honey, did you order dinner?"

Both Slayers ignored him.

"Okay, killing humans equals badness. Point taken. But your secret," - Faith eyed Angelus' body appreciatively - "seems a little bit darker."

Angelus smiled back. "Thank you. Nice blackmailing speech, too." Amused, he studied the unseemly stand-off. "They just don't make Slayers as they used to, do they?"

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**315. Consequences.**

Buffy stared at her lover. "She didn't," she said, even though she knew that Angel wouldn't lie. Already rubbing the skin between her eyebrows, she sat heavily on the bed. "Stupid girl. Stupid _stupid_ girl. Does she think Wilkins will play fairer than us?"

"Because a Slayer's little black heart can't be lured by power." He grazed his fingers against the dagger she always carried, felt the pull of energy between them. "Can it?"

"That's different," Buffy snapped. "I'm not siding with the enemy!"

Angelus laughed. "You wound me."

Buffy's lips curled into a furious snarl. "You're not _my_ enemy."

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**316. Doppelgangland.**

Buffy looked at the vampiress currently occupying her bed. "Not to self: Raven black is _so_ not my color."

"I don't know," Willow said nervously. "It's kind of sexy, in a demonic homicidal way." She scrunched her face. "That's not helping, is it?"

Xander patted her hand. "Hey, we were nearly eaten by our best friend. Feel free to bundle up those nerves." He turned to Buffy. "What are we doing with her?"

"I don't think one of you could…?" Both teenagers looked horrified by the suggestion. "Thought so," Buffy sighed. "Staking myself - as if I didn't have enough issues."

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**317. Enemies.**

Buffy sat tiredly against the cage bars. "Did you really think Angel wanted you?"

Inside the cage, chains rattled. "Fuck off, B."

"You thought - what? That you did evil better than me?"

The silence was enough confirmation.

"He isn't interested in evil."

"Could've fooled me." Faith laughed bleakly. "Besides, he gave quite the performance - how's the black eye?"

Buffy touched gingerly the tender skin; but didn't take the bait. "What interests him is how evil affects someone - _me_."

"Aw," Faith snickered. "Isn't that true love?"

"No." Buffy threw a key into the cage and rose to her feet. "It's not."

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**318. Earshot.**

She'd practically moved to the mansion months ago; but never had she felt so simply _content_ within its walls, on these black sheets. "I love that you're so quiet," she murmured, snuggling deeper into the vampire next to her.

Angelus traced her hairline, almost fondly. "You didn't know you wouldn't be able to read me."

Buffy shook her head. "Blessed silence after Mind Reading Hell." She kissed his neck. "Never been happier to have kept you."

He let out a laugh. "Now you'll say you wouldn't have peeked in my plans."

She frowned. "When have you bothered to hide any?"

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**319. Choices.**

Buffy looked happily at the small reunion in her apartment. Willow was finally chatting with Nancy. Cordelia and Xander were keeping their nose-biting to a minimum, and Giles seemed content to sit back and enjoy.

Time for the toast. "First, let's thank Oz for the booze. Here's to band players of dubious habits."

"Here, here!" the others (sans Giles) chorused.

Buffy noted the omission. "Okay, putting a black mark in our evening, my Watcher will lecture us on the dangers of alcohol."

Giles rolled his eyes. "Not tonight," he allowed.

She smiled. "And now, our guest of honor… Willow Rosenberg!"

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**320. The Prom.**

If she turned around, their anger (their disappointment) would drown her.

Instead she burrowed deeper into her lover's chest, moving along to the slow song.

((Cordelia's voice, shrill with disbelief - Buffy ignored it.))

"You could have made an effort," she whispered, fingering the black material of his trademark shirt. "It's a formal occasion, after all."

((Anya and Willow were fighting. Oh Willow, always too loyal.))

"I didn't plan to stay." He sounded amused. Listening to the pseudo-whispers behind them, Buffy thought he had good reason to. "Now, though…."

No. "Let's go."

He laughed, pulled her closer. "And ruin the evening?"

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**321. Graduation I.**

"Thanks for coming," Buffy said, opening the door.

Willow didn't cross the threshold.

"Will…." This was a mistake. This was asking for too much. But she'd saved Willow's life, damn it. "Do you really fear me?"

The redhead's eyes told the truth, but she bravely stepped forward. "I'm not helping him." She wringed her hands. "Don't ask me to."

Buffy stomped on her despair. "So you'd rather let the Mayor win?"

Willow bit her lip.

"Angel may have terrorized us; but Wilkins will make Sunnydale into nothing but a black memory." Buffy looked at her friend in the eye. "Choose."

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**321. Graduation II.**

"An entire world and you choose LA. Why?"

"It's close. I need to be close." Her eyes fixed on the scenery rushing by. A lone house. Trees - one tree, two, three…. "I need to."

"Not that you're wanted," he said meanly. "Who said they'd rather see you dead?"

"Nobody."

"Hm. Must've read between the lines."

She raised her gaze to the skies, followed the route they'd come from. Black. Black. Lighter. Bright with town lights. And there, a brighter spot, wildly lit -

Sunnydale High going up in flames.

"I'll make it better, Buff."

Silence.

"Do you believe me?"

Buffy nodded.

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**The End**  
01-03/12/08

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**Feedback **is good. Mentioning your favourite, too. For longer stories in this , check Leni at ff dot net.


	2. II

_**DISCLAIMER:** Joss Whedon. I'm just playing.  
**SUMMARY:** **CS'verse.** Buffy-centered. Bringing B/Aus into S3, again.- I really should think of doing this for Morning After & Other Fairytales...  
**RATING:** R.  
**WORDCOUNT:** 22x100  
**A.N.2:** Major spoilers to other **CS'verse.** stories; and even some that haven't been written yet. But I probably won't write them for months to come, so...  
**FEEDBACK:** Loved. Mentioning your favourite gives me an extra happy. :)_

Written for **open_on_sunday**. **Prompt:** passion.

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**THE HARD WAY (II)  
**_by Leni_

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**301. Anne.**

Short white hair wisped from under the bright headscarf, and wrinkled hands shuffled the Tarot cards impassibly. But the dark eyes were sharp. "Come to know your future, girl?"

"We are telling yours," and Angelus tossed the demon's head onto the table. The fortune teller and the J'yf had been working together, predicting misfortune and targeting her clients until, desperate, they agreed to the exorbitant cleansing rituals.

No fake indignation, but sudden shock and sadness came to Madame Ella's face. "Oh, Bruce…." She looked at Angelus knowingly, then locked eyes with Buffy, "You'll tell me I shouldn't have pursued passion?"

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**302. Dead Man's Party.**

Angelus made a show of checking his watch. It was barely four; Buffy always insisted on spending the daylight hours with her friends.

"Shut up," Buffy forestalled any comment and moved to lie on the bed next to him. "You're supposed to stroke my hair and ask what went wrong."

He looked bored. "Joyce finally showed up."

"I hate Slayer hearing. She was telling Dad that he should have kept me longer, and Dad was making noises about me being a too wild, too passionate teenager." A half-chuckle, half-sob. "You really won't stroke my hair?"

"I have a better idea."

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**303. Faith, Hope & Trick.**

Buffy eyed the small earrings, the heart, the cross and the hands carefully etched in silver. "I noticed you liked the motif," Scott was saying, "I thought these would complete the set." Buffy thought of her ring (a boyfriend's show of love), of the small charm nestled against her breast (a lover's token of passion), then tried to imagine Angel's reaction if she wore the symbol of this schoolboy's crush.

He would be particularly inventive.

"You should try Cordelia," and she put the box back in his hand. "A cute boy who gives jewelry. She'd love you at first sight."

**.**

**304. Beauty and the Beasts.**

By the time she'd finally fallen asleep, Buffy had told him the whole sorry story and his shirt was tear-soaked in several spots. Awake now, she'd childishly pulled the sheet over her head.

"Come, darling." The loving epithet didn't even stir her. What a waste. "You shouldn't let a little thing like murder hinder your education." He had plans for today, and he couldn't implement them with her moping around the mansion. "Just because a guy came onto you a little too passionately and you took him down - oh wait, that's not what happened. Jekyll Junior was _begging_ for it."

**.**

**305. Homecoming.**

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

The question caught Angelus unawares. A seventeen-year-old-girl, Buffy still wasn't the typical teenager in more ways than the obvious one. She'd never been insecure about her looks, and if she was fishing for compliments, she had to know that even souled he wouldn't have played along.

But was she pretty? With her arms braced on either side of his head, nipples hard and dark, and her skin gently shadowed by the traces of their earlier foreplay. Only pretty? A Slayer pinning down the enemy, passion so heated it echoed down to his body…. "Pretty enough."

**.**

**306. Band Candy.**

Once Sunnydale returned to normality, Buffy did not. Seeing her dazed look, the absent way her fingers skimmed along the angry red burn around her forearm, Angelus thought of driving her to the mansion. But she pointed right when he would have taken a left, and after a small pause, he shrugged and headed for his old apartment.

Inside, Buffy crumpled into the settee she'd brought from her house. "That's what everybody is like? Selfish and irresponsible?" Her eyes went to the burn. She meant Giles, then.

"It's called passion, Buff. Blind, overriding passion."

She nodded. Then, simply, "It hurts."

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**307. Revelations.**

"Damn it, stop!" Buffy jumped back again.

Faith didn't seem to care (or notice) that Buffy was only blocking or avoiding her hits; she showed no restraint as she tried to back her sister Slayer against the corner. "Was everything just a joke to you? 'Slaying is not a job, it's who you are,'" she mimicked, her dark hair whipping wildly. "Or, yeah, 'Don't let your passions rule you.' Right? 'They'll never help your duty.' You were talking from experien-"

Faith fell.

Behind her, Angelus chuckled, "She was right."

Buffy went to her knees beside the younger girl. "I know."

**.**

**308. Lover's Walk.**

"New decorator?" The Slayer had rushed inside for a change of clothes, and as Spike studied what'd been their lair not a year ago, he guessed that clean clothes weren't the scope of the girl's possessions under this roof. "I thought you and Missy would have killed each other already," he said frankly.

"She still is very… shiny," Angelus answered, loungering against the wall. "I find it appealing."

Spike let out a laugh. "Don't say you're still playing the passionless pity fuck. I've seen you. Hell, I've _heard_ you." He smirked. "Just send a card when Blondie joins the family."

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**309. The Wish.** _(References to a yet unwritten rewrite)_

Buffy shot up on their bed, eyes wide open and nails halfway through the sheet. A disgruntled mumble came from beside her, and then a reluctant stirring. She melted gratefully into his embrace. "You killed me again," she whispered.

"It's just a dream," he said, though they both knew better.

She relaxed her arms and lifted them to thread around his neck. "I wish I could ask Giles. Deciphering Slayer dreams is his passion."

"Maybe it's another girl's death." He didn't say he'd never killed a Slayer.

"Maybe," and she didn't say her heart hadn't been beating in the dream.

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**310. Amends.**

"I hate you!" she screamed.

Angelus looked into unforgiving green eyes. The accusations were still there, unsaid but as obvious as the crossbow aimed at him. He stood motionless for a second, then another, then... "Who are you?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes warningly. But, where was the fire? "Don't move."

He moved - the arrow never came. "Where is Buffy?"

She smiled. "Interesting." Where was the passion? The smile could never be Buffy's. "How did you know?"

"Now that'd be telling," he protested. Suddenly, he tackled her, intent on wrestling the crossbow from her hands.

He fell through thin air.

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**311. Gingerbread.**

Buffy finished the sentence before addressing the newcomer. "Thank you, Angel." Her back was to him, but she could hear him walk into the bedroom area. If he deigned to answer, he'd take his time, so she continued reading the History lesson.

"For leaving them alive, even after their impassioned witch-hunting speeches" he asked suddenly, interrupting her note-taking, "or for bringing the scythe with me so the others wouldn't notice."

"Willow saw it."

"And you shared all pertinent information, right? Or, maybe," - he smiled knowingly - "you told her to keep quiet."

She slammed the book closed and left the apartment.

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**312. Helpless.**

Buffy wondered if he even knew what he really wanted. The now familiar feeling of his hands roving her flesh until she gasped in either pain or pleasure, had faded away once it was obvious that she couldn't free herself from his grasp.

"Damn you," he'd murmured against her belly, holding her so tightly she'd all but lost her breath. Then he'd released her and moved up to kiss her lips, a slow kiss usually reserved from when most of her passion was spent and he was persuading her to try again. "Damn you to hell."

Buffy kissed him back.

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**313. The Zeppo.**

"I fear that Buffy and Faith can't defeat the Sisterhood by themselves." Giles glanced at the Slayers with concern. Buffy smiled; Faith yawned pointedly. "If only we had an edge," Giles continued.

Willow squirmed in her seat.

"We'll do great," Buffy cried out, hoping to end this meeting before Willow gathered up her nerve. "Greater, too. No, _greatest_." She elbowed Faith. "Right?"

"Yeah," Faith answered, glaring at her. "Can I go?"

"I'm sorry, Buffy, but I hate lying with a passion. Not that we lied! But can't we tell Giles about _it_?"

Faith perked up. "Oh, I'm staying now."

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**314. Bad Girls.**

"Really, B. You're too stingy with the details." Faith kicked the vampire she'd just thrown to the ground. "Think your fang boy cares if you share?" The stake was in her hand, but she still didn't use it. "Or maybe he's lousy, and you're afraid he'll kill you if you tell."

"Nice tr-- Watch out!"

Faith saw the second vampire and, grabbing his wrist, sent him careening towards Buffy. "Maybe this one'll do better in the passion department," she laughed.

Buffy's only reply was a stake through the heart.

Shaking her head, Faith killed her prey. "Fine. Be that way."

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**315. Consequences.**

Faith opened her eyes to find herself face-to-face with Angelus' amused expression. "What…."

"A little Slayer said you needed some undisturbed time for self-searching." He laughed, at her current position or maybe at Buffy's naïveté.

"Whatever." Faith closed her eyes, then snapped them open, aware that she shouldn't show weakness before the enemy. The enemy. If she took his ashes, everybody would forget about the unfortunate bastard from last night.

Angelus laughed when the chains went taut at her charge. "Passionate, but still a silly little thing." He looked like he wanted to pat her head. "Enjoy your stay, blackfire."

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**316. Doppelgangland.** _(References to a yet unwritten rewrite)_

Angelus woke up to the uncomfortable feeling of midday sunlight outside, and an armful of teenage Slayer pressing him down into the mattress. She hadn't even removed her clothes first. "Another dream," he sighed. Slayer dreams usually came and went, nothing to mark them except some mild thrashing and a more honed ferocity in the next hunt. Only one reduced Buffy to a quaking little girl. "It won't come to that, Buffy." Because, after all the time and passion he'd spent in her, Angelus couldn't conceive willingly delivering the killing blow.

"I know." She burrowed closer. "I'd kill you first."

.

**317. Enemies.**

Again, the key to Faith's freedom rested on her palm. Again, hers only was the choice whether to release or doom her sister Slayer.

Again, she'd go against both instinct and logic and let Faith go.

Shortsighted as she was, Faith would believe that her freedom came in exchange for not telling on her and Angel. But if she stayed in that cage, tomorrow the Council's agents would drag her away, and Buffy couldn't hold that in her conscience. She'd rather fight her during the Ascension, let their true passions rule the outcome.

"Surprise, surprise. Came to gloat?"

If only.

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**318. Earshot.**

"Up with you!"

Buffy, who'd finally fallen into exhausted sleep, blinked in confusion. "What?" Next, she remembered why she'd been so exhausted. Forget forbidden passions and misfiring curses, telepathy was the true hell. "You found a cure?"

"Better." He yanked her shirt up.

Buffy tugged it back. "_So_ not in the mood, Angel."

Angel tsked, and showed her the dress he'd left at the feet of the bed. The stunning dress he'd given her for her birthday. "We'll make a social call. I'll show Wilkins my beautiful jewel, and you-"

Buffy caught the drift - "I'll pick his brain." - and grinned.

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**319. Choices.**

Saturdays meant lunch with those overeager friends of hers. Sometimes he thought of teasing her for the monotony of her personal life; but she could turn the tables on him too easily. After all, she'd say, she wouldn't need to keep such a strict schedule if she wasn't hiding one half of her life from the other one. She'd go on, saying how her friends didn't deserve it, and how she should come clean….

Her passions always ran high when he brought up Willow or Xander, and amusing as it could be, Angelus was fast growing weary of the show.

.

**320. The Prom.**

"We haven't danced in Sunnydale in a long time," Buffy said quietly, forcing her body to relax even though her mind was going in ten different directions - all leading her out of the school gym.

"Since Xander's birthday, at the Bronze."

He'd still had a soul then, but neither mentioned that fact. Neither did they mention the reactions of a few graduates-to-be and one chaperone.

"He kept glaring at me," he remembered, "Yes, just like that. So much passion." And he whirled her around so she could see her friend's expression. "Bet he wishes he could do something with it."

.

**321. Graduation I.**

"Buffy…."

Buffy didn't remove her brow from the back of his hand. It was clammy with sweat, as it never had been since the night she'd met him, and intermittently his fingers clenched and unclenched, as he'd never let them he were in control. "They found anything?"

Willow swallowed audibly. "No."

"Are you glad that this happened, Will?"

Expectedly, Willow kept her silence. Only Angel told her the truth. "If he dies, I hope hell breaks loose." She ignored Willow's gasp. What could this sheltered girl know of binding love and passion? "That way, it'll be easier to find him."

.

**321. Graduation II.**

_Passion._

Sunnydale stayed farther away with every second. At random moments, only the seatbelt stopped her from jumping onto the road and running back.

_Selfish._

But Willow had frozen in their goodbye hug.

_Irresponsible._

Xander hadn't spoken to her.

_And yes, it hurt like hell._

Buffy unfastened her seatbelt and scooted closer to the driver's seat. "I'll go back, Angel. Soon, I will." The Hellmouth was still her duty. Her friends were still under her protection. The town was….

Angel wasn't laughing.

"You understand?" She tried not to sound too hopeful.

(Only Angel told her the truth.)

"You're a fool."

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**The End**  
06/04/09

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Thank you for the reviews for the first 'mini episodes'. I hope you've liked this second, too.

I keep forgetting to post the stories I write for the Buffyverse (CS'verse included) at . I'll try to post some now, but if I don't get to it (I've gotta work on an hour long transcript for work), they are all safely posted at the lj community: kitteninthedark. Bye!


	3. III

**TITLE:** The Hard Way III  
**AUTHOR:** Leni  
**DISCLAIMER:** Joss is the boss  
**SUMMARY:** **CS'verse.** Buffy and Angelus find a way to be together in S2, and they end up in LA a year later. What happens in-between?  
**RATING:** R. _language warning!_  
**WORDCOUNT:** 22x100  
**A.N.:** Major spoilers to other **CS'verse.** stories; but you'll survive if you read this without having read the others.  
**FEEDBACK:** Loved. Mentioning your favourite gives me an extra happy. :)

_Written for **open_on_sunday**. **Prompt:** leaves/left._

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**THE HARD WAY III  
**_by Leni_

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**301. Anne.**

"Where were you?"

Buffy sighed tiredly. "Hello, Dad." Damn Angel. He could have warned her about the heartbeat in her bedroom. At least she hadn't taken any hits to the face, and the jacket covered the bruises on her arms. Patrols were rougher in LA.

"Young lady, if this is your behavior in Sunnydale, I'm not surprised your mother -"

"- leaves me on my own all the time?" It was too late for this discussion. Just too late. "Look, Dad. I was just meeting some old friends." She summoned a smile, pulled the sleeves down to her wrists. "No harm done."

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**302. Dead Man's Party.**

Willow flipped through the channels, laying on her belly on the carpet and legs bent at the knee and crossed behind her. She checked that Xander was still in the kitchen, refilling the pop corn bowl, and then poked Buffy's thigh with the remote. "You met someone."

Buffy slapped her friend's hand and shook her head.

"Old boyfriend, then? That Pike guy?"

Xander walked back - "Spike's back in town?" - and set the bowl down in front of him. Willow pulled it back to a more neutral spot, scooped up some pop corn.

Buffy laughed. "Nah. That one left for good."

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**303. Faith, Hope & Trick.**

Buffy let herself fall onto the mattress, staring up at the ceiling without any outward sign of her agitation. No yelling. No baiting. She was growing up.

Angelus was growing bored.

So he grabbed her ankles and pulled hard, enjoying her shriek as she tumbled onto the floor. The amused smirk became a grin when she jumped to her feet and attacked him. No doubt. Immature outbursts looked quite appealing on her. "Still jealous?" he asked as they moved the impromptu fight to the living room.

"I'm _not_ jealous!"

He rubbed his cheek. Her left hook had improved. "'Course not."

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**304. Beauty and the Beasts.**

Angelus chuckled at the pensive expression on the teenager's face. "What if it's true? Would you throw yourself on a silver bullet's path, or maybe shoot your girlfriend yourself?"

Oz's head snapped up.

"Maybe one of you killed that guy. Maybe you did it together. Or maybe you're innocent. But you know that it doesn't matter, don't you?" He put a hand on the boy's shoulder, a mockery of support. "Werewolves kill. That's instinct. So you're left wondering," Their eyes met. "How long can I cheat instinct?"

With a barely hidden growl, Oz broke away.

Angelus nodded. "Exactly my point."

.

**305. Homecoming.**

Angelus secured the manacles around his guest's wrists, whistling as he did. Buffy was still unconscious, but her wounds were healing at their normal rate and her heartbeat had returned to its usual rhythm. "If you'd done your job a bit better," he told the hunter, "maybe I wouldn't need to worry about her heartbeat at all."

"Freak," the man spat.

Angelus punched the other man straight in the nose. Over the pained groans, Angelus started, "I know it seems antiquated. But, really, broken fingers never get old." He looked between the man's hands. Shrugged. "Let's start with the left."

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**306. Band Candy.**

"You're disappointed."

Buffy left aside the meditation façade. She broke the pose, stretching her legs and reaching for her water bottle, and faced him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Her attempts at concealment were pathetic. "I bet that this morning Willow and Xander couldn't stop teasing Giles about yesterday." When she shook her head, he smirked knowingly. "Didn't said you found it funny." He pointed at the faded burn on her arm. "Because unlike the restraints he imposes on you, Ripper had a hell of a time in his youth."

"That's not -"

"Fair?" He laughed. "I agree."

.

**307. Revelations.**

Buffy paced the apartment's length, left to right, right to left, and again. "This won't work," she said suddenly, swirling toward him. "She has to go."

Angelus looked up, showing interest for the first time in the evening. "Faith?"

"No. Gwendolyn Post," Buffy snarled the name. "One Watcher thinking he can lead the Slayer is enough. We don't need her. _I_ don't need her." She staggered when Angelus appeared in her way and was surprised when his hands came up to support her.

"Do you still need anyone, my dear girl?"

She laid her cheek against his chest. "Not her."

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**308. Lover's Walk.**

"You've got no right to judge." Spike pointed at the left side of his chest. "My heart never died, and I'm not scared to own up to that. But you? Look at you. Look at our home!" He swiped an arm around the mansion living room, then stopped and barked a nasty laugh. "What's that?" He squinted. "That's firewood, Angelus. _Firewood_. What do you need the warmth for? Vampires don't get cold!" He wobbled towards the fireplace, kicked at the iron poker he found there. "You're playing house with the Slayer and _you_ don't have the decency to admit it."

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**309. The Wish.**

Willow followed the older woman through the school corridors. From the corner of her eye, she noticed small differences. The lab was painted blue instead of green. The trophy cabinet looked emptier than at… the other school. _Her_ school. The _real_ school.

Miss Calendar turned to the right.

Willow pointed left. "The library is over there."

"Library?"

"You know, where Giles keeps the books."

The teacher - the alive, breathing teacher - shook her head. "Couldn't keep them at the school anymore. Turned out vampires could enter at leisure." She chuckled. "We found out the hard way."

Willow shuddered. "You too, huh?"

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**310. Amends.**

"I was the designated driver that night." Buffy turned to her left. The nameless brunette shrugged sadly. "The others didn't wake up in time."

"I still don't get it." Jesse's voice behind her. "You save the world - but you couldn't save me?"

She stepped back. "I'm-"

"She wants to apologize, children." A teacher from school. Buffy remembered his face if not his name. "Give the girl some space."

Then he was gone.

Buffy's eyes searched the area. Nothing. Very slowly, she turned in a wide circle, expecting their return with every breath. Nothing.

"I'm sorry!"

Only echoes answered her scream.

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**311. Gingerbread.**

"I'm tired of you and your friends messing things up." Amy held up her hand, creating a barrier around Buffy.

"Stop!"

Instead she made a fist. The barrier contracted until Buffy looked frozen mid-motion. Amy sighed. "You think you're saving the world; but you're only making life harder for the rest of us. You're not the only one on the Hellmouth, Buffy. You go around fighting powerful demons, attracting them with the challenge. And then we're all tied to a stake. Face it, Buffy. Your life leaves _us_ to clean the wreckage." Her eyes went black. "I'm stopping that now."

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**312. Helpless.**

"Damn it." Buffy twisted the cap harder, but her hand kept slipping around it. "Damn. Damn. _Damn_." She finally slung the mayonnaise pot across the apartment, putting all her strength into it, and watched in disbelief as it crashed barely a few feet in front of her. "Damn…."

"It's started," Angelus said, now behind her, as his arms came around her.

Buffy wanted to deny it; but she couldn't even shake him away. Anger and betrayal invaded her, like the first day she'd known about the Cruciamentum. Frustration left her feeling empty, spent. "Couldn't wait until my birthday, could they?"

.

**313. The Zeppo.**

Buffy knew there'd be trouble as soon as they were left alone. Indeed, Giles hadn't reached his office when Faith turned to her. "If you die tonight, can I have Angelus?"

Buffy's fist tightened around an arrow. "If he doesn't kill you first," she forced herself to answer.

Faith shrugged. "Maybe we'll both die. Yes. Let's give your boyfriend a baby sister to play with." She smirked. "Men get bored so easily and, let's face it, B. After screwing the current version this long, he must be dying for an update."

Killing Faith wasn't worth the hassle. Killing Faith wasn't….

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**314. Bad Girls.**

Angelus tossed her the jar of ointment, followed it with a roll of bandages. He took a look at her swollen ankle, shook his head. "If you weren't the Slayer, you wouldn't be walking anymore."

"If I weren't the Slayer," Buffy responded as she painstakingly lifted her foot, "I wouldn't be taking down vampire nests - and saving the other Slayer's ass while I was at it. She's such a child. Didn't even stop to count them before jumping in."

"Two Slayers break into a nest. One barges in without planning." He tutted. "That leaves another stupid enough to follow her."

.

**315. Consequences.**

"Let me out." The girl twisted her body into a beckoning posture despite the chains. "I'll make it worth your while."

Her lips arranged into a pout, breasts offered without shame. And her eyes…. Dark eyes filled with dozens of scenarios where she ended on top and he, ashes on the floor. Angelus laughed at the thin charade. Even Buffy could dissemble her anger better. "I prefer my Slayers focused on slaying someone else."

Her eyes narrowed. "The big vamp's not up for a fair challenge, then?"

"Fairness?" He laughed as he left the room. "You must be kidding me."

.

**316. Doppelgangland.**

Buffy took a step back as her opponent slipped into her demon visage. "Whoa…." Ridged brow, golden eyes accented by the long black hair framing a familiar face. There was a glint of fang, but Buffy couldn't tear her eyes from the color of the lips. Pink Russet N° 16. She huffed. "_So_ not fair. They discontinued it here. Saving it for special occasions? Not cool."

"There was a whole case left at the mall." The vampiress shrugged. "I stole it."

"Being evil doesn't sound so bad."

"Clerk was tasty, too."

Buffy sighed. "And _that_ would be the bad part."

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**317. Enemies.**

"Aw. Chin up, B." Faith tapped the underside of the blonde's jaw and, with a little cheer, grabbed it forcefully and aimed it to her left. Angelus was standing there, shirt half off and an expectant expression on his face. "You never said he was so… intense." Faith grinned at the answering scowl. "Look at it from the bright side, sis." She extended her free arm towards the vampire; Angelus took her hand and tugged her closer. Faith laughed as she resisted the motion in order to whisper in their captive's ear. "At least we're keeping everything in the family."

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**318. Earshot.**

"Would you like some coffee?" Wilkins' eyes roved across her. "Or maybe a glass of milk. I don't know what the Council thinks, keeping their Slayers so undernourished. It leaves them so… unprotected." He shook his head. "My Faith has developed a healthy appetite in the last weeks, just like a girl your age should."

Buffy raised her head, unsure whether an answer was expected or it'd been more of the mental onslaught of the last day.

"I'm taking good care of her, Richard." Angel placed himself between them, taking the spotlight from her. "Now could we discuss our business?"

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**319. Choices.**

Buffy and Willow waved goodbye to Xander, then continued their way to the redhead's house.

"He doesn't complain about being walked home anymore," Willow noted after a while, smiling. "Male pride has been left aside by the possibility of facing Angelus and Faith again." Her expression soured. "That betraying b-word."

Buffy looked away, but gave a grunt that might be interpreted as agreement.

Willow glanced at her friend. "You're supposed to say that Faith deserves the real b-word." She frowned. "Aren't you angry at her?"

"Raving mad," Buffy answered with conviction.

"Then why…?"

Buffy sighed. "Don't worry about it, Will."

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**320. The Prom.**

They don't understand.

They stare at her and she becomes the unwanted, the regretted. The stranger.

"I love you, guys," she says, hating her small voice, as if she were apologizing. Their eyes don't waver. Their disapproval never budges. She scrambles for reassurance… and finds Angel's hand with hers, is relieved by the scrape of a thin metal band against her palm. Thus strengthened, she faces _them_ again. "But you probably won't believe me now, will you?"

They don't answer. They don't need to.

In the background, another song starts.

One more dance, then.

One more dance before she leaves.

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**321. Graduation I.**

Giles was surprised at her guarding stance at the bedroom door. "You really don't trust me, do you?" Her eyes were bloodshot; from tears or exhaustion, he didn't know. But her body language screamed that she'd attack if he tried to go past her. "You can't think _I_ would kill your lover on your own bed, Buffy."

She flinched, enough to tell Giles that he hadn't been completely deceived by her. But she rallied back right away. "Dunno, Giles. I didn't think you'd push me through the Cruciamentum, and yet…."

"Where does that leave us?"

"Nowhere. It leaves us nowhere."

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**322. Graduation II.**

"Hey." He hauled her against him, uncaring of the noise their blood-drenched clothes made. His arms were a steel vice around her, and he was disappointed when she didn't try to break it. "The Mayor is killed. The Council has left town. Your damned Sunnydale is safe for another day." Angelus growled when she didn't answer, released her enough to bring their faces together. "Name one good reason for this ridiculous crying."

He relaxed when she punched his chest. "They're happy tears!" she yelled.

"Liar." He pressed her closer, amused at the familiar struggling. "But you've gotten better at it."

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**The End**  
28/07/09

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**Feedback** is loved. Mentioning you favorite drabble, even more!


	4. IV

**DISCLAIMER:** If I had S/.1.00 for every time I've _wished_ they were mine....  
**SUMMARY:** **CS'verse.** Buffy and Angelus find a way to be together in S2, and they end up in LA a year later. What happens in-between?  
**RATING:** R. _language warning!_  
**FEEDBACK:** Loved. Mentioning your favourite gives me an extra happy. :)

_Written for **open_on_sunday**. **Prompt:** work._

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**THE HARD WAY IV  
**_by Leni_

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**301. Anne**

Buffy said nothing when Angel pulled up next to the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign. She wasn't mad at him. Being mad at him was like berating a hurricane for destroying your house, upsetting your life and pulling out the rose-colored glasses from your eyes.

She'd just liked those rose-colored glasses.

"Last chance to head back to LA."

She was tempted. Sunnydale's only bright spot were her friends, and the last days had taught her that a Slayer's work waited for her everywhere. But…. "I'm not running away, Angel."

He trailed a nail over her shoulder. "My hero." And he laughed.  
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**302. Dead Man's Party**

"I gather you're moving." Giles pulled one sheet of paper and pointed to a line near the top. "Tell me why I had to ask Willow to, uh…."

"Hack," Buffy supplied cheerily, leaning to read what had upset Giles. Her new address. Figures. "You told Will to hack the school records?" she stalled, patting his shoulder. "I'm so proud you're joining in the new century's delinquency."

"I hardly think _this_ -" He wouldn't let himself be sidetracked. "- is adequate for you."

"It's cheap, Giles." Which was true. "It's all my extracurricular job lets me pay."

"You don't work…."

Buffy sighed. "Exactly."  
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**303. Faith, Hope and Trick**

Angel trapped her wrists and slid back up until they were face-to-face. Brown eyes wore a golden edge, arousal and anger equally present. "I'm not doing all the work here, Buffy." She tried to use her body to shove him, but he had her well pinned down. When she relaxed again, he leaned in. "So you're not fond of your friend's replacement. I have news for you, lover; you were never supposed to meet _your_ replacement -" He nipped her ear. "- much less Kendra's."

"She's… different." Her eyes narrowed. "Sharper."

"Believe me. There's nothing there for you to be jealous about."  
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**304. Beauty & The Beasts**

Buffy studied her best friend. Ever since they'd heard the news, Willow had glued herself to the computer, pulling the morgue records on Jeff Orkin. "You don't believe that Oz did it."

The redhead turned, looking pale and tired. "I don't. Oz is… was…."

"Your boyfriend."

Willow shook her head. "No, he's _Oz_. He'd never…. Of course, we thought the same about Angel." She laughed nervously. "And maybe it's Nancy. What do we know about her before…." A sigh. "Right. Oz bit her. But Buffy, just - don't go Slayer on him, okay?"

"I promise, Will. I'll only do my work."  
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**305. Homecoming**

Angel watched her from the bed as she tried yet another hairstyle. "Explain this again."

Buffy's reflection looked surprised. She held her hair up with one hand while the other grabbed the pins from between her lips. "I thought you didn't care." Now with both hands, she did a complicated twist and considered the result, then shook her hair free and started again.

"I didn't," he agreed. "But this much work means it isn't another 'I'm not just the Slayer' cry. You _really_ want to crush the other girls, don't you?"

"I only want to win."

"And the difference is…?"

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**306. Band Candy**

Buffy looked at Giles in disbelief, then waved the chocolate wrap in front of him. "I just ate. _Chocolate_."

Giles gave her a look. "I'm well aware of that. Now, can you check this tome while I work on the others?"

"I wish Xander were here to witness this," Buffy muttered, gingerly taking the offered book. "Giles. We mustn't handle the books until we've washed our hands, remember? You made it into a library rule last year."

"I…."

"We just added the 'no jello' thing. Really. Willow's got it noted down and everything."

Uncharacteristically, Giles rolled his eyes at her.  
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**307. Revelations**

Every time Faith dropped by at the apartment, Buffy expected her to perceive Angel's residual presence. But either Faith's instincts were blunted, or the younger Slayer thought the sense of a vampire lair stemmed from Angel's living here long before…. Buffy clamped down on that thought. Just _before._

Now Faith was rummaging through her weapons cabinet, making her sister Slayer grind her teeth as she handled Buffy's favorite crossbow from the wrong end. 'Niceness works wonders,' Giles had advised.

She'd be nice. And tomorrow, she'd _nicely_ convince Ms. Post that every Slayer needed her own cozy Hellmouth to call home.

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**308. Lover's Walk**

Change was in the air.

Not the Mayor's well-guarded plans. It wasn't the tiny doubt that she'd win that final battle. It wasn't the seldom acknowledged thought that _Angel_ would stop believing that she'd win that final battle, and Buffy knew he'd never side with the losers.

It was something closer to her heart.

Xander's smiles. Willow's blush.

Willow and Xander.

Buffy wondered whether it should surprise her more. Destiny seemed to work itself out, after all. "We've been here before." She grinned. "You pining after Xand'; me, after…."

Willow glanced at her pityingly. "I'm sorry."

"No need to be."  
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**309. The Wish**

She woke up laughing, the memory-feeling of his fangs buried into the right side of her neck, working through muscle and nerves and she _laughed_.

Silence came with a gasp.

"No." She brought tentative fingers to her collarbone but couldn't dare to take them higher. There was no wetness dripping down her skin, no dry sensation of caked blood against a memory-wound. With her other hand she felt around for Angel, and she almost cried out in relief when she found nothing.

"A dream," she comforted herself.

And chose to ignore that a Slayer's dream was no comfort at all.

.

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**310. Amends**

Angelus calmly studied the city map. "Come, Rupert. No staking tonight's ally just because I know my way around the sewer system better." The crossbow mechanism didn't disengage. "Priorities, boy," Angelus sighed. "Saving your Slayer should rate higher than vendetta. Of course, the Slayer supply is steady, while I killed your one love." He grinned when he looked up. "Is Buffy so unimportant?"

The crossbow wavered.

"After all," Angelus continued, "Faith can do Buffy's work, can't she?"

Giles lowered his weapon.

"I'm curious." Angelus chuckled. "Am I off the hook because you love Buffy, or because nobody can replace her?"  
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**311. Gingerbread**

Buffy stared at the papers in her hand. Read the first lines again, skipped down to the signature at the bottom. _Joyce Roberts_. It took her a second to realize it was her mother's maiden name. "Oh." She really was cutting all ties.

It wasn't a surprise.

It wasn't.

"I'm liquidating the house." Joyce's voice sounded tired. Not unexpected after following Sheila Rosenberg through a witch hunt. "I'll make sure you receive your half of the money on your birthday. It should be enough until you start to work."

Buffy nodded. And there she'd thought being eighteen looked grim enough.

.

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**312. Helpless**

The last time she'd felt so detached, she'd been standing at Jenny's grave with a mix of guilt and accusation in her thoughts.

"You need to understand, Buffy," Giles was saying.

Months of knowing the truth hadn't prepared her. Angel would laugh at her current distress. But not even the shame at her childish reaction touched her. "I do understand." And because she did, she knew that Giles shouldn't look relieved at her words.

A soulless vampire had broken all rules for her.

But her Watcher hadn't.

Nice to finally have proof which kind of love worked the real miracles.  
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**313. The Zeppo**

Buffy smiled when she spotted her two best friends. They still hadn't seen her, or they'd pull apart and pretend not to want to continue kissing.

At least they never mentioned why romance was delegated around Buffy. After Ryan's death, they'd understood her disinterest in dating. ("Doesn't mean we shove our love life in her face when she's…" Willow's 'haunted by her evil ex-boyfriend' had been loud even from the library corner where she and her boyfriend were working. "Love-lifeless?" Xander had suggested.)

Love-lifeless.

Yes and no, Buffy wanted to answer.

Instead she turned around and let her friends be.  
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**314. Bad Girls**

"I know you're there." Buffy ignored Faith's surprised sweep around the clearing and past the demon corpses around them. While the brunette brandished her weapon against the newcomer, Buffy fingered her scythe. "You came for a therapy session?"

Angel rumbled a laugh as he stepped away from the darkness. "Why would I do that?" He petted Faith's hair on his way to Buffy, more amused when both Slayers growled at him. "You're working just fine through your anger issues." He swept a finger down the scythe handle, smirking knowingly at her shudder. "_Now_ am I forgiven?"

Buffy stepped backwards. "No."  
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**315. Consequences**

"Did I push Faith into this choice?" Buffy wondered as she took out a clean shirt from Angel's closet. At his silence, she buttoned up and turned around - to find him working at a large stain of Mayor's minion's blood on his jacket. She had to laugh. Such a mundane sight, one she'd seen a dozen times when Angel had insisted to dress her wounds and she'd found some excuse to stay longer. "That jacket won't make it."

Frustrated, Angel tossed it on top of their other ruined clothes. "Wilkins is dead."

"Nice to see you're finally 100% on board."  
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.

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**316. Doppelgängland**

He'd thought they mixed sex and violence before. What a joke. "Stop," he roared, nerves protesting her nails' frenzied work. Dozens of deep and bloody scratches - fuck.

"Admit you love me!"

He laughed, earning another slash. "I'll kill for you, you crazy bitch. That's not new." He hauled her away, enjoying her gasp when she hit the opposite wall. "I'll bear with your moods, your pets, even your idiotic savior complex. And when hell comes to reclaim me, I'll drag you with me before letting go."

Their eyes met. Hers looked… relieved.

"You _are_ crazy," he spat, and stalked away.  
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**317. Enemies**

"I don't understand," Faith whispered again. But this time there was less anger in her voice, replaced by alarm.

So the girl had some working Slayer instincts after all.

Angelus sat in a corner, satisfied that the chains that had held Buffy didn't even budge at this Slayer's struggle. "You delivered the Troy horse to Wilkins' office," he explained. "Buffy didn't think that your pride would take the bait, but you aren't much different than old Pryamus."

"Keep it to the twentieth century, honey," Buffy piped up. Then, to Faith, "Don't you hate when he starts with the historical referencing?"  
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**318. Earshot**

Decision made, Buffy walked into Giles' office. His worried _Is everything okay?_ rushed through her, and she tried to smile. "I have a question."

_Not another demon. There's enough work researching Wilkins' plans._ "Yes?"

"What happens to a rogue Slayer when the Council catches up?"

_They die._ "It depends." _Or worse._ "They might try to reprogram Faith." _Drugs. Loss of self. A girl-puppet. I should never have…._

Buffy wasn't interested in his regrets. "Oh. Doesn't sound so bad."

_I betrayed her in their name. How blind could…._

"Sorry! Gotta go, Giles." And faking a grin, she fled the library.  
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**319. Choices**

"Thank you," Buffy acknowledged reluctantly. Faith had slowed her arrival until Xander carried Willow into safety, timed it so only Buffy remained in the room.

The brunette shrugged. "I like the little witch. And who knows, maybe I'll save her boyfriend for when I'm feeling picky." She took out her new knife and winked at her sister Slayer. "God knows he could use a good, long work out."

"Careful, Faith. The 'little witch' might turn you into a rat if she hears that." Buffy laughed.

"Why hasn't she?"

"Doesn't know the reverse spell."

"Softie."

Buffy agreed, but didn't say so.

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**320. The Prom**

Angel worked the tiny hooks at the back of her dress. His reflection was absent, so she could pretend his touch was gentle instead of possessive, could picture a fond smile instead of the smirk their last interview with Wilkins had left.

If for nothing else, she'd kill Wilkins for forcing her hand.

"Ready," he breathed against her hair, turning her so they'd face each other. He lowered his hands, until he was brushing the pulse points at her wrists with his thumbs. Real gentleness. "Don't be scared, my dear." He kissed her brow. "It will only hurt like hell."  
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**321. Graduation I**

Willow's nervous eyes jumped to Buffy, then back to the unconscious vampire that shifted against the chains holding him to the headboard. "He called for you," she said, looking at Buffy in open wonder.

No surprise in Buffy's reaction. Instead she reached out to soothe his raw wrists. "You were right." She kissed his fingers, pressed them against her forehead. "Working through a Watcher's stubbornness is _hard_. But I'm not saving anything without you, and if they want another Slayer -" Her laugh terrified Willow. "They can try."

"You love him," the redhead whispered. "I don't understand."

"Don't worry. Nobody does."

.

.

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**322. Graduation II**

A girl should always wake up to a soft, insistent touch wandering up her ribs. "Good," he murmured, nipping her shoulder delicately, trailing higher to swipe his tongue against a still tender spot on her neck. "I was thinking to take drastic measures to wake you up."

Her brain didn't want to work past slow sex. And a longer nap afterwards. "Don't wanna."

"Graduation beckons, Buff." But his hands spelled different intentions.

Intentions she approved.

"Hellmouth opening, yada yad-" She moaned. "Oh."

"And you get to take Richard's head." He kissed her, hard. "Can't wait for my first row seat."

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**The End**  
13-24/09/09

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**Note:** I'm slowly moving all my drabbles to **kitd_drabbles** (dreamwidth dot org). _Courting Sin_ has its own tag (**ar: courting sin**) and can even be searched by season, cs2(btvs2)-cs8(ats5). I haven't finished posting, though. Be patient. I'll get there.


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